Seren 34
An Amazing Wedding
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SEVEN months had passed since my engagement to Prince Helios was nullified and I had officially become a High Mage. Since then, preparations had been underway for my wedding to Viol, Archmage of the Third Mage Guild and head of the High Mages.
Lord Viol was my magic master and tutor as I strove to become a High Mage, and he had taught me with strictness, kindness, and plenty of care. I respected him very, very much.
When he transforms into the black cat, Vi, as he often does to avoid people’s attention, he becomes a soothing and adorable presence. But in human form, his masculine beauty takes my breath away. Just looking at him makes my heart beat faster. As much as I love his appearance, who Viol is on the inside is what really attracts me to him.
He always listens to me with such focus and attention, and is always so considerate. His imagination is so rich, and the dashing way he uses various types of magic as easily as breathing never fails to impress me. When he instructs me in magic or combat or introduces some new piece of knowledge, he is precise, and I can trust everything he says.
Above all, though, I love how honestly and directly he communicates what he thinks to me.
The more time we spent together, the more I realized I was increasingly drawn to him. Just seeing him, chatting with him, was the ultimate happiness. Yes, that’s how I felt. And when I found out that Lord Viol felt the same way, I thought I’d burst with joy! When we confirmed our feelings to one another, I was so filled with bliss that I thought I’d ascend to the heavens on the spot.
Indeed, I was stunned beyond words when he followed up on his confession with an immediate proposal. Before I knew it, I heard myself saying, “Yes!” such was my love and adoration for the man.
We discussed our intentions with my father, but he advised us to hold off on the actual getting married part for a while since it hadn’t been that long since my previous engagement had ended. But both Lord Viol and I wanted to live together as soon as possible.
After that, various things happened, but we got Father’s blessing. And then, just the other day, the king and queen gave us the OK as well, and now we’re well and truly on the path towards marriage.
“…What’s wrong?”
Since it wouldn’t be proper for a man to openly visit a young woman before getting officially married, Lord Viol had come to see me today in the guise of a black cat. Now, he was looking up at me curiously. I was thrilled with how his supple feline body moved so gracefully, and the playful arch of his tail struck me as extremely cute.
“Hehe,” I giggled. “I was just getting lost in the moment. Thinking that I’m really going to be marrying YOU, Lord Viol!” As I spoke, softly stroking that velvety back, Vi narrowed his eyes blissfully and nuzzled his cheek against my hand.
Incredibly adorable.
“Indeed… I want to spend time with you like this in my human form, though, Lady Seren. As soon as possible.”
“Me too.”
Back when I couldn’t possibly have dreamed that Vi was Lord Viol in disguise, he would get haughty and embarrassed by my attempts to pet him and pick him up. But now, he doesn’t scold me for it, so I pet him constantly whenever we’re together.
Suddenly, a mischievous thought occurred to me.
“Hmm?”
I picked up the little cat and snuggled him in my arms, eye to eye with those big, dilated black pupils, and then I rubbed my cheek against his. A shiver went through the little body, and the tail went pin-straight.
“Lady Seren…!”
“I can snuggle you like this without any embarrassment. And I just love you in your cat form, too!”
“…”
As I continued squishing and cuddling Vi, he stopped mewling in protest and calmed down. Though he’d complain at first, he always let me have my way.
“…Lady Seren.”
“Yes?”
“Our wedding is less than a month away.”
“Indeed! I cannot wait!”
“I have something to discuss with you.”
“Oh, whatever could that be?” Something to discuss. It sounded so serious. I looked down at Vi in my arms. “Something to do with the wedding?”
Vi shook his head. “Ah, no, to be more accurate, it would precede that. I mean more in terms of preparing people for the news… I suppose I had better tell everyone at the Mage Tower about it in person, shouldn’t I? Usually, I would have announced it when we decided to marry, but I thought I had better consult with your father first, you know.”
“Oh, right…”
Indeed, it had been on my mind as well. In an aristocratic family, the family head would handle such matters. Usually, the word would be spread casually at an evening soiree, and then the couple would be officially unveiled at a post-wedding function.
But according to Lord Viol, commoners hold a big ceremony in a church in front of friends, relatives, colleagues, neighbors… Then, they have an informal party with lots of food and drinks and chatting. They don’t have soirees or balls. So, the new couple is unveiled organically during the wedding festivities.
Since guests have to be invited to the wedding, that’s usually the point where people find out that two people are to be married.
The differences are interesting, but it’s hard to know what to do in our case.
Now that I’ve become a High Mage and broken with my father’s household, I feel like Lord Viol and I should handle things ourselves. But neither of us is particularly savvy when it comes to such matters. As Lord Viol said, the safer route would be to consult with Father and Mother about how best to make announcements and so on.
“Right. Okay, the next day we have free, let’s go together and seek counsel about it,” I said.
“Right.” Vi nodded, looking satisfied, then suddenly stretched in my arms and pressed his cheek against my neck.